The alley smelled of must and the dumpster at the closed end. Clearly the two restaurants nearby both used the dumpster, the scent of old fried food and rotting vegetables cloying in the narrow space. It was nearing midnight, but the streets were still bustling with activity. Two figures stood near the brick wall of one restaurant, just out of the circle of illumination cast by the security light on the corner of the building. The cliche of the meeting spot was not lost on the taller of the two figures. He resisted the urge to sneer at the sniveling man who deluded himself into thinking he was confronting him. "He has been released. How could you let…"
"Do not blame me for your own folly, old man," his dark voice hissed in response. "I handled my part of the bargain. Wounding Kikyo and making sure that she sealed that half breed mongrel. Keeping him there was your responsibility."
The shorter of the two men barely suppressed the shiver of rage that tripped down his spine. "Kikyo was not meant to die," he reminded his companion.
A scoff. "Her loyalty to the mutt and her stubbornness were not within my control." His tone was dismissive, cold, which only infuriated the shorter man more.
The two stared at one another in mutual hatred. They had originally been bound together by a common goal. One that had supposedly been accomplished but now seemed to be coming unraveled. "I have made it known that the hanyou is free and that he is currently human."
A bark of laughter rung harshly between the brick walls. "You truly are a fool if you think that is permanent. A hanyou, while weaker than a youkai, is at an advantage. They can and will regain their youki when purified. His humanity will not last, if he has not already returned to normal." The human man let out a furious breath. "Again, your lack of knowledge in these matters is a hindrance. Educate yourself so that no further mistakes are made. We cannot afford for them to fulfill the prophecy while you fumble around."
He spluttered indignantly. "I tracked her soul. I warned the mother to keep her…"
A snarl of fury curled the darker man's lip and interrupted his excuses. "And what good did that do? You should have killed the girl's parents and taken her instead of risking her finding him. Once she was within your reach, and so weak, you should have killed her."
He balked at the very idea of killing another human, an innocent human who had not done anything to earn an early death. "The girl is needed."
"Only for your own ends. Now everything is at stake because you are faint of heart." He let it sink in a moment. "Find what I am after and I will grant you what you seek."
"Yes, of course Naraku-sama."
Inuyasha watched as his mate bustled in their small kitchen, an apron tied messily at her hips and her hair knotted on top of her head. She had made a big stink about him sitting down in the living room while she cooked, not letting him "interfere" at all. While he appreciated the thought of him "taking a load off" he was not good at it in practice. His foot kept swinging as he sat on the couch and his nose was twitching. The scent of whatever she was making smelled familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. What he did know was that it smelled amazing and his stomach was rumbling in anticipation.
He bit back the gut reaction to bolt into the small space when she squeaked in surprise. "Kagome?"
"The oil just popped a little. Caught my hand. I'm fine." He frowned, but remained in place, knowing she would scold him if he tried to go in there and stop her. His woman was nothing if not independent, something that alternately charmed and infuriated him. When she was done, he was more than glad he'd waited. "There. Chicken Karaage." The hopeful look on her face was undeniable and the inuhanyou leaned over to kiss her, just because he couldn't help the urge.
"Smells amazing, Kagome," he murmured. He grinned at her pleased flush. She waited for him to try a bite before she finally relaxed. "Hot damn. Kagome, this is really good!" It took everything in him not to scarf the whole plate in front of him like a starving animal. Kagome nibbled on her own, too caught up in watching him enjoy it to focus on eating. "What's all this for anyway?" he finally asked.
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise. "Y-You don't know?" She was a little taken aback by the innocent and confused way he blinked at her.
"Uh…"
Kagome jumped out of her chair, startling him with the sudden movement, and went to the cupboard above the sink. Inuyasha barely kept his mouth from dropping open in shock when she pulled a small cake from inside and set it in front of him on the table. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Happy birthday, Inuyasha."
The inuhanyou glanced at his mate, the cake and then up at the calendar hanging by the phone. He was a little overwhelmed. Kagome had put in the effort to make a homemade meal and get him a cake for his birthday, a day he hadn't celebrated since his mother was alive. Part of him shied away from accepting the acknowledgement, part of him was touched by her thoughtfulness. "I… How did you know?"
"Kaede-sama remembered. I thought it might be too much for you to go out, but I wanted you to know how…" She was cut off by his lips meeting hers roughly, long fingers twining in her hair as he pulled her into his lap.
"Thank you, Kagome," he whispered, kissing her again after a breath. She only smiled giddily and relaxed into his hold. Her scent drew his nose into the curve of her neck, the combination of food smells, while pleasant, were a little overpowering. He wanted a moment of just her. "This is probably the best birthday I've ever had," he told her honestly. Kagome shifted in his arms, twisting to try and get a good look at his face. He gave her a wry grin. "Growing up, my mom tried to celebrate it. It's not like we could invite anyone over for a party. Even if someone would have come, we barely scraped up enough to eat some months." He paused, taking a few calming breaths to soothe the ache that rose in him at the memory of what his mother had been forced to suffer through. "She would save up to get me a small treat or a gift and we would just eat together. I… This is perfect Kagome," he assured her, hands cradling her cheeks as she faced him with tears in her eyes. "Don't cry, Mate. You've made it so I can actually look forward to my birthday."
"I'm so sorry for what you went through, what your poor mother went through." She sucked in a breath and scrubbed at her eyes a moment. "But I'm also so grateful for her strength to raise you in spite of everything being against you." She turned shy suddenly.
"What?"
She flushed slightly, embarrassment filtering into her scent. "I… Sometimes I pray to her. Thank her," she whispered, as though speaking the words too loudly might cause him pain.
Inuyasha froze, golden eyes wide as he stared at his mate's bowed head. He was struggling to process what she'd just told him. "For what?" he finally croaked out.
"For having you. Loving you. For making it so I could meet you."
"Kagome…" His heart felt full to overflowing. This woman repeatedly showed him what it meant to be loved, what it was like to have someone love him in spite of all the reasons others had come up with to reject and dismiss him. "She would have loved you," he murmured finally. Kagome gave him a shy smile and hugged him to her instead. They snacked on the remaining chicken from the warmth of each other's hold, then fed each other bites of the cake. While tempting, he hadn't smashed any of it on her cheek, the look of warning on her face enough to stall that idea. They did laugh quite a bit though. Trying to get the soft, crumbly cake from the plate and between each other's lips with just their fingers proved more challenging than one would think. Eventually they snuggled on the couch after cleaning up, dozing off with the faint sound of an old movie in the background.
"So there's not much to do in this part of town except this." Miroku was too enthralled by their surroundings to be bothered overmuch by his companion's words. "Miroku?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I have not experienced this before, so I am taking it all in."
The small bar was full of people of all backgrounds. Youkai and humans alike stood around tables or sat in booths, talking, laughing. There was music in the background, but with all the voices, it was difficult to discern what kind or what they were singing. Miroku grinned as a pair of female youkai walked past with drinks in their hands, tossing him a curious look, but nothing more. "I still can't believe you lived in a temple your whole life. You've never been to a bar before?" Miroku smiled and shook his head. He watched as a young human man approached the pair of female youkai who had passed by earlier, obviously striking out on gaining an invitation to join them at their table and sulking back toward the bar stools.
"Ouch." Miroku couldn't help wincing at the rejection, knowing at least a few of those would be in his future should he make a similar attempt. He knew he had minimal experience with women in general and even less with the art of flirtation and courtship.
Hachi nodded in sympathy. "You've really never dated a girl?" he whispered conspiratorially. Miroku scowled a bit before he could stop the reaction.
"From what you told me the other day, neither have you, Hachi." The tanuki turned sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yea, well…"
"I'm sorry, my friend. That was insensitive of me," the ex-monk sighed. The new friends shared an awkward moment before they were startled by their table getting bumped.
"Oh, pardon me!" one of the two women gasped. Miroku wasn't sure, but her tone seemed… exaggerated? She had dark hair and ruby colored eyes, shrewd if anything. Miroku was instantly suspicious, but he gave her a charming smile anyway. "I didn't spill anything, did I?" she asked, motioning to their beers. Both men shook their heads and fully expected her to move on. "Would you mind if we sat with you? There aren't any other tables left." Her youki brushed against his senses in an intentional probe, one he was able to pretend not to notice. "I'm Kagura, this is my sister Kanna." The still silent one of the pair looked up at her name, her almost black eyes startling in and of themselves. The empty quality to them made them all the more unsettling.
Where Kagura was dark, Kanna was light. They appeared to be near negatives of one another. Kagura was flirtatious and exuberant while Kanna was painfully quiet and reserved. Miroku participated in the conversation on a surface level, watching their interactions with his companion. Somehow the topic moved to how few sealed youkai were left in the different shrines and temples around the country. "With the changes in the law, they try to negotiate a lot more before locking anyone up. I think it's a good thing," Hachi said.
"I heard that inuhanyou from a long time ago got out of his seal."
Hachi was not typically what you'd call a bright man, but even he saw the lead for what it was. Miroku mentally praised him for not immediately looking to him. He knew that Inuyasha's freedom was a sore point for some and that openly showing association with him might bring trouble. "Oh, yea. I think I did hear something about that. Lucky guy, I'd say."
"I heard a human woman got him free. A miko."
Miroku fought his startle response at Kanna's contribution to the conversation. "Huh. I heard it was a bunch of monks," he supplied. "Can you imagine waking up after so long and having to catch up with all the changes?" Miroku was able to redirect the conversation to all of the technological advances over the last few decades, all talk of the hanyou in question fading. When their beers ran out, Miroku offered to go get another round, even offering to get the ladies a drink. Kagura eyeballed him a moment, but refused and mentioned they were probably going to go to another club.
"She seems shy, but Kanna loves to dance," she said with a smirk. As there was no overt invitation, Miroku made sure not to appear interested so they could end this farce.
Once they were gone, Hachi glanced at the ex-monk at his side in concern. "That whole thing was weird."
"I agree. They were definitely fishing for information, trying to see if we knew anything. We should head back…" he murmured, still watching the people moving around their table in the loud bar. And warn Kagome and Inuyasha, he thought.
When he got back to his apartment, he immediately called the number Kagome had provided. He was not exactly surprised to hear Inuyasha's gruff voice answer the phone.
"Inuyasha, it's Miroku. Can you talk for a few minutes?" The inuhanyou grunted an affirmative, muffling the receiver a moment to inform Kagome who was calling at such a late hour. "I was out with one of the youkai who lives at the boarding house. We had a somewhat… interesting conversation with two female youkai."
"Bouzu, I'm not much interested in how you picked up broads at a bar." Miroku started to retort until he heard a loud "woomph" and Inuyasha's muffled cursing. Pillow. Serves you right. Kagome's tone in the background was adequately irritated. "Alright! Women. I don't wanna hear about you hitting on women at the bar. Happy?"
Obviously not the target of the snarky riposte, Miroku ignored it. "I am speaking of a pair of women who just so happened to express interest in you and your release from your seal." He waited while Inuyasha conveyed this information to Kagome before going into more detail. He explained the odd vibe he'd gotten, the way Kagura had been seeking more information. "I think she suspected I knew you at the very least."
"Shit." He could almost hear him wipe a tired hand over his face. "Thanks for the heads-up. I'll make sure to keep a closer eye out." The two men didn't realize the identical faces of concern they made when hanging up. Inuyasha slumped onto the couch beside his mate, ears drooping with his mood.
"So someone's looking for you?" Kagome murmured, placing a calming hand on his chest. Inuyasha sighed roughly.
"It's just as likely they're looking for you. Maybe to unseal other youkai?"
Kagome hummed noncommittally. "Could be they were connected to whoever planned the whole set up fifty years ago." The inuhanyou nodded, thoughtful. "Come on. Let's get some sleep. We won't figure it out right now."
Despite agreeing, he was up most of the night, holding Kagome close while his mind sifted through every single memory he had of that day he'd been pinned to the tree. Any scent, sound, color… Anything that struck him as different or odd. Nothing was really coming to him. He'd been so caught up in his very shaky romance with Kikyo at the time, trying to show her that he didn't have to change for them to be together. He cringed at the memory of trying to kiss her and his lip burning on contact. It had been both painful and humiliating. Yet another reminder that he was less, not enough. He couldn't have the normal things most youkai or humans had. At least not with the one he'd wanted at the time.
Looking down at Kagome nestled in the crook of his arm, he grinned despite himself. He had it now. He had what he had never dreamed possible. Love. He was loved and treasured in a way that took his breath away sometimes. Kagome never shied away from him, never hesitated to show him how she felt. She brought out a protectiveness and affection in him that not even Kikyo had been capable of. Sorry, Kikyo, he sent up silently. You never needed or wanted me like this. The deceased miko had been too stubbornly detached. Staunchly separate for reasons he didn't entirely understand, refusing to show weakness to anyone. Even me, who she said she loved. But he got the loneliness that she felt, the need to connect to someone else who understood what it was like to be different and apart. So maybe Kikyo hadn't loved him to the same depth that Kagome did, but she had loved him in her own way. He could be grateful for that, he supposed.
Kagome stirred in her sleep as she was wont to when she was overtired and he rumbled gently to encourage her back into deeper sleep. Again she shifted, flipping onto her other side. She murmured something he couldn't understand and nuzzled into the crook of his elbow. "Warm," she breathed.
Inuyasha sighed at how her trust in him warmed his heart, his very soul. He kissed the back of her head and rolled so he could spoon her, clinging to her. "I love you," he mumbled against the nape of her neck. Kagome made a soft contented noise under her breath and wiggled back until she fit into every nook of his body. The inuhanyou smiled dreamily and was finally able to drift off with his mate.